“What?” I asked, a little let down he
wasn’t celebrating with me. Was that too much to ask for?
“Nothing. It is as I thought.”
“What did you think?” I questioned,
nervous and slightly upset. He makes me do something positively ridiculous and
then can’t even congratulate me when I can do it? No. That’s screwed up. “I’m
not letting you turn me into some little science project if that’s what you
thought.”
A gentle smile cracked his lips, only
adding to my annoyance. “Not at all.”
“Then what?” I demanded, not sure how
I felt about his attitude. He wasn’t even reacting, really. What kind of person
didn’t react to something like this? Well, obviously Drei. But what did that
mean about him?
“Do you really want to know?” I
nodded and he continued, “You know of the elements, correct?”
“Of course,” I replied, sighing to
calm myself enough to hear him out. “Water, earth, fire, and air.”
“Then you know that some people are
born embodying these elements?”
“No,” I scoffed. I thought everyone
knew that was superstition. And yet he seemed so serious about it all. Suddenly,
I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know.
“Well, people are. More often than
not, people are born of earth and water. Fire used to be a common element found
in people; but somewhere around the 60’s they started going insane and being
charged with arson. So they were mostly committed. As for air, they have always
been rare. They bloom the latest of all the others.”
“When do they bloom?” I questioned,
genuinely curious, but slightly confused since I didn’t think this had anything
to do with flowers. I hated it when things stopped making sense or when they
didn’t make sense to begin with.
“Earth and water bloom as early as
four, fire around ten generally, and air are so rare, there is no mean age. Some
bloom in their 20’s, some in their later life, and others yet in their late
teens.”
“So you think I’m an air element?” I
queried, resisting the urge to point at myself in extra emphasis or burst out
laughing to make this all go away. That’s all I really wanted at this point. Just
to make it all go away. Pretend it wasn’t happening.
“Yes. After all, you did just prove
it with that experiment.”
He was starting to confuse me. Since
when did freakish powers make me an element? The two didn’t equate in my mind. Though
I wanted to say this aloud, I didn’t want the answer since that would suggest I
was accepting the explanation he was currently giving me when I wasn’t sure I even
wanted to.
“Actually, the proper term is air
elemental, if you care to be specific,” he added, as if this was just a minor
detail and not my life.
“I’m supposed to believe that?” I
questioned, sounding more incredulous than intended.
“Not right away,” he replied
dejectedly, a sadness filling his pale eyes, though they didn’t look away. “No
one believes it right away. It is a lot to swallow.”
I breathed deeply, not sure if he was
lying and trying to hurt me or if he was honestly telling me the truth. Everything
was just so screwed up. Richie trying to have his way, those men in the alley,
the cold, and now this. It was building up and I wasn’t sure I could handle it
all in my life, let alone the same week. It just didn’t seem possible.
“I can’t…” I said, closing my eyes
and shaking my head. “I-I just can’t. Not right now.” Maybe not ever, I didn’t
add. I stood to leave, turning to apologize before walking out the door.
I knew I’d hurt him and let him down,
that he was possibly expecting more from me…but the responsibility of what he
was suggesting was too much to handle, emotionally, at that point.
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